Edukasi pencegahan hoaks dan verifikasi informasi online untuk pelajar SMP/SMA di era digital - Cahyana, Yana (Universitas Muhammadiyah Mataram, 2026)
Abstrak Perkembangan era digital meningkatkan paparan informasi daring pada pelajar, namun tidak seluruh informasi yang beredar bersifat valid sehingga meningkatkan risiko paparan hoaks. Kondisi ini menegaskan pentingnya penguatan literasi digital, khususnya kemampuan verifikasi informasi secara kritis. Kegiatan Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat ini bertujuan meningkatkan pemahaman pelajar SMP/SMA mengenai pencegahan hoaks dan teknik verifikasi informasi daring. Program dilaksanakan pada 15 peserta melalui pendekatan edukasi partisipatif berbasis ceramah interaktif dan simulasi studi kasus. Evaluasi dilakukan menggunakan desain pre-test dan post-test untuk mengukur perubahan pemahaman peserta. Hasil evaluasi menunjukkan bahwa lebih dari 70% peserta mengalami peningkatan skor pemahaman setelah pelatihan. Jumlah peserta yang mampu mengidentifikasi ciri-ciri hoaks dengan benar meningkat dari 6 orang sebelum pelatihan menjadi 15 orang setelah pelatihan. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa pendekatan edukasi berbasis simulasi kasus efektif dalam meningkatkan kemampuan verifikasi informasi. Selain peningkatan aspek kognitif, observasi selama diskusi menunjukkan perubahan sikap peserta menjadi lebih berhati-hati dalam menerima dan membagikan informasi digital. Kata kunci: era digital; pencegahan hoaks; verifikasi informasi online. Abstract The rapid development of the digital era has increased students’ exposure to online information; however, not all circulating information is reliable, making students vulnerable to hoaxes and misinformation. This condition highlights the importance of strengthening digital literacy, particularly students’ ability to critically verify information. This community engagement program aimed to improve junior and senior high school students’ understanding of hoax prevention and online information verification techniques. The program involved 15 participants and was conducted using a participatory educational approach through interactive lectures and case-based simulation activities. Evaluation was carried out using a pre-test and post-test design to measure changes in participants’ understanding. The results showed that more than 70% of participants experienced an improvement in their comprehension scores after the training. The number of students who were able to correctly identify characteristics of hoaxes increased from 6 participants before the intervention to 15 participants after the program. These findings indicated that simulation-based educational approaches were effective in enhancing students’ information verification skills. In addition to cognitive improvement, observations during discussions suggested changes in participants’ attitudes, as they became more cautious in receiving and sharing digital information. Keywords: preventing hoaxes; the digital age; verifying information online.